HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne, trains capable and responsible economic leaders and entrepreneurs, as well as generating ideas which make a mark on their era.

Aiming to develop a better understanding of social enterprises and to contribute to the promotion of social entrepreneurship, HEC Lausanne launched a Belgian research project «International Comparative Social Business Models» (ICSEM) which aims to develop a database of the different existing models of social enterprise in 22 different countries around the world and put them in an international perspective by conducting comparative analyses.

The main specific feature of the ICSEM Project is its geographic coverage in comparing social enterprise models and their respective institutionalization processes across the world. Therefore, the project relies on the participation of a large number of researchers from different regions who will provide country-specific or field-specific analysis of social enterprise models.

“Our collective includes people who share this mission of Saving the world. We build trust amongst peers based on solidarity, leveraging resources and being vulnerable. This trust engages us in collaborations around impactful missions and projects. People come with their skills as a whole and have meaningful work.

Trust, fairness, openness and collaboration are at the core of the ecosystem. We do our best to find skilled individuals who share this mindset.”

Our Support

In 2014, the Foundation financed the « International Comparative Social Business Models » project (ICSEM).

The Working Paper for the 1st phase of the ICSEM Research Project was finished in July 2014: Social Enterprise Models in Switzerland. An Overview of Existing Streams, Practices, and Institutional Structures.